they fought they were american until they broke the law are now they're deported to cambodia for life. one of the families fighting for their loved ones at this time on al jazeera. counting the cost germany's outlook it's europe's largest body fracturing economy but is it in the slow lane when it comes to the digital economy we'll talk about it shoring for climate change plus can we stop companies from using our internet data without. counting the cost at this time on al-jazeera. counting is underway after kurds voted in large numbers in a controversial referendum in northern iraq.

i wanted this is al jazeera live from london also coming up. a declaration of war that's how north korea's foreign minister described on trump's latest tweets he says all options are now on the table. i know it's devastating for maybe. a country in ruins we report from domenico where harken merrit has left a trail of destruction. and donald trump's war of words with u.s. football players over patriotism escalates. and over to being counted in a controversial kurdish referendum on secession in northern iraq with local media reporting a turnout of seventy eight percent a comfortable yes result is expected but the outcome won't be binding oh dr hamid has the latest from. it's

a day. they had hoped to see in their lifetime some eager to be the first to cast their ballots suzanne was so excited about the referendum she had a restless night. is the first time she's been able to vote. i am so happy i wanted to be one of the first ones here i only slept for three hours this is a historic day for us it's not the first time voted but he too was in early he does his blue finger was pride. i have voted in presidential and parliamentary elections before but this is the most important one because it's about independence i hope and you could have. everyone. syrians you know everyone who wants to live in freedom. similar scenes were being repeated around the kurdish region people streaming into polling stations however they could areas where kurdish president.

has a strong foothold so happy today. also went to cook despite fears it could further. than arabs nearly half of the city's population who feel they have been marginalized by the kurds so this is the ballot paper the question was. kurdish areas outside of the region's administration. to become an independent state the vote. which means. everything on the ballot is written in three other languages arabic assyrian and turkish the regional government sending a message that the future kurdistan state will be inclusive. but william benjamin is not convinced he's an assyrian christian and has voted no. we don't see the same interest in us in other political events before this

referendum it's just a way to lure the minorities we respect their promises but until now they've not respected all rights and every race in the history of this land excluding our part in it the kurdish president has said that it's time to end a failed partnership with baghdad a message that resonates among kurds who hope that this is the day that they write what they consider to be a historical wrong but by taking over the disputed territories but is only now faces those who feel history is repeating itself this time against known kurds but at the. meanwhile iraq's central government and turkey are starting joint military maneuvers on the border in retaliation for the vote president just announced the referendum. our armed forces are on the borders with iraq to do whatever it takes iran as well will do whatever it takes our air force stands ready we will never allow anyone or anything to go from turkey to iraq this week we

will adopt so many other measures will close the borders nothing will go across the border. joins us live from. scenes of jubilation that was the saving night. point to try to hold on i mean this is going to they. want all you know the biggest in these regions history certainly since the fall of saddam hussein i mean you can say see behind me that. traffic is completely. in both directions. along the streets there small runs down you can see thoughts towards the citadel i mean it's difficult to describe just how do the people all. of that according to the referendum committee around seventy four percent of the five point two million baby will that and is able to take halts cos

their ballots we've been speaking to people days you heard they're going to space we were actually based in some of the disputed areas speaking to voters there. a lot of them very concerned about family. basically saying lewis was. ok all don't want to drive anything to do with the baghdad government. and of course about any suzi controversial there has been rejection from the international community from the u.s. from the arab league and from some very important neighbors in this region as well to and iran. what this actually signifies though it's important to recognize this is what barzani the president of the chaotic.

thing his mandate mandates to initiate now slowly negotiations you know potentially pulling this this ball. they're out for independence so it's not over yet certainly there may be scenes of jubilation in the nights but there is a lot of work to do and there are some very serious language used by some very powerful neighbors in this region. with. you very much indeed. north korea's top diplomat has called a tweet by u.s. president a declaration of war trying to eat on saturday that north korea's leadership won't be around much longer the north korean foreign minister says his country now has the right to take countermeasures including shooting down u.s. planes the white house says the suggestion they've declared war is absurd on

diplomatic editor james phase has been. as he left his hotel heading out of new york north korea's foreign minister really young ho addressed reporters with a statement that further ramps up the tension with the u.s. . last weekend trump claim that our leadership wouldn't be around much longer and hence at last he declared a war no country or do you like the more that given the fact that this comes from someone who is currently holding the seat of the united states presidency this is clearly a declaration of war his latest comments go further than his address to the u.n. general assembly two days earlier he was clearly responding to president trump's tweet after that speech in which he referred to little rocket man and warned they may not be around much longer he also referred to u.s. show of force which took place just before he spoke on saturday u.s. fighter jets and b. one bombers flying close to north korea's eastern coast but still over international waters can be will be years from doing polar honey found since the

u.s. declared war in our country we will have every right to make ken a measures including the right to shoot down the united states strategic bombers even when they're not yet inside the airspace of our country thought they would wear uniform as a foreign minister. said many things last week and this week. the japanese ambassador to the united nations among those who wouldn't publicly dignify the comments of the north korean foreign minister with a response diplomats are hoping there can be a poor's in the war of words bartz with the constant provocations coming from north korea and the instant replies on twitter from president trump that seems a little unlikely james pays out his era at the united nations. medical services on puerto rico are in critical condition in the wake of hurricane maria with officials warning the situation may get worse before it gets better the strongest storm to hit the caribbean island in decades has caused wide ranging power outages with many

hospitals now running off generators on friday around seventy thousand people were told to evacuate the area close to a dam that's been damaged there are fears that could breach and cause severe flooding. or is killing these thirty three people so far with the bulk of those deaths happening on the tiny island of domenico at least eighty percent of buildings there have been damaged and most communication lines cut leaving many cut off from the outside world it relies on the reports from their. approaching domenica from the shoreline the first signs of a battered country on shore at the port the picture is clear. when the cruise frantically unload water some of the first aid to reach the island all week but as we'll find out later it's not nearly enough a group of dominique ensue live abroad have reached the island to rescue family members bring in supplies and they get a first glimpse of

a home landed ruins i love this country i mean you know it's devastating for me it was. all right. was he at least knows his family is alive but not everyone is so lucky they started going through. a lot so i lost my meet my nieces my brothers in mountain a critical condition that i haven't seen my daughter. through all the old girl go out i don't want to sit there with both airports shut down people crowded the gates at the port to try to get on one of the few ships evacuating people out and piss is why in this neighborhood near the capital everything is gone schools homes roads it's all badly damaged some beyond repair the people of this

island nation of seventy one thousand are desperate some still in shock you know and i have to think it came up with a vengeance the hurricane destroyed the power lines there's been no electricity for a week supermarkets are flattened leaving little food this seventy eight year old man hadn't eaten in days you know so i try to ask an aide to give me yet. you know no way no no no i think you'll get anything. if they do want to do good and it took. eight operations are still in the early phases but it's clear domenico will need the world's help to rebuild not for days not months but for years but that can wait water to hand. here they're thirsty and in this neighborhood bottled water finally arrives given the nature of the destruction it's

almost like the country of domenica no longer exists and in some ways it doesn't once a small but vibrant island nation buzzing with art culture music and life all of that is now gone the entire country has been reduced to a debris field the heart of any country is not its buildings or roads and it domenico their will is being tested in ways no people should ever have to endure but will is all they have left give rosendo. domenico. still to come germany's chancellor begins the complicated task of building a coalition government after losing ground to the far right. and forced to scavenge for. food in what was once south america's richest capital city.

how the change from late summer to stormy autumn is fairly rapid in the southeast of europe with actually as far north as austria and still this cloud circulating east of the age of the attic and there is still storm warnings up particularly for greece for you can see where the cloud is from slovenia and sioux across to remain u.s. storms in the last week were pretty vicious so you expect the temperatures to have dropped in for the most part they have we're now below the thirty mark virtually everywhere roams at twenty four there's a bit of space in the bottom left and lucy that spoke still probably about thirty of the most part there is certainly cool down a steady breeze coming in from the east is cooling things down across the black sea keeping book rest at twenty one the sunshine doesn't do much to alleviate exert about eighteen in lynn very pleasant in comparison to the time of year twenty or twenty one she's likely in london or past this is true for the next day or so where

the storms could see to rumble in greece and probably across the igi and into western turkey as well that those showers won't come much further south and we've got a fairly dry picture of the whole of north africa now from a thirty three degrees sunny skies cairo to rather cloudy twenty five in robot and that cloud is quite extensive and drifting further east every day. russian filmmaker andrea christophe explores how putin's russia impacts the very values of the nation the russians are famous for their cultural legacy but can traditional and conservative be the source of stagnation and authoritarian why wasn't the u.c. raided by the police to issues ukraine's homosexuality the significance of looting to the russian elite is that he's like a fake you who controls the cobra in such a putin's russia at this time on al-jazeera.

logan or one of the top stories here kurds have voted in large numbers in a controversial referendum on secession in northern iraq the referendum has faced strong opposition from the central government in baghdad as well as international criticism. north korea's foreign minister says us president donald trump's recent comments on his leadership were a declaration of war. the extent of the devastation caused by harken there is becoming clear as many as eighty percent of the buildings have been destroyed on the caribbean island of domenico. germany's chancellor angela merkel is holding

talks on forming a new coalition party came out top in sunday's election but its share of the vote fell and for the first time in decades the far right who won seats in the german parliament largely reports from berlin. most important politician in europe the most important female politician anywhere the flag bearer for liberal democracy in an uncertain world four wins in a row for angle a merkel even if her party's vote share shrunk and the far right emerged once again it was a problem she was quick to acknowledge when you won from let's we want those a.f.d. voters to move to come back to us through good political work we want to solve the problems people are facing these might be shoes of integration and illegal immigration but there are also questions around services in rural areas or questions of public transport or opportunities for farmers as recent opinion polls have predicted the far right and see immigrants alternative for germany which wants

to close most and stop immigration took thirteen percent meaning more than eighty seats in parliament yet the disorganized by monday morning the woman who led them to this position said she was so angry with the direction of the party that she would not be joining their bloc. this is. such an anarchic party as we've seen in the last two weeks can be successful as an opposition party can't offer a realistic expectations of taking over the government i have decided that i would not be part of the f.t. in the bundestag the morning papers tell both these stories the tabloids in shock at the symbolism of the far right getting into the german parliament again the more sober media arguing it was still merkel's night despite some losses a sample of opinion in central billion on monday morning reflected both these views . we are democrats and we have to accept it and i'm confident they'll find a solution and i also think that on the next vote the f.t. won't be a strong any more it's been said i am our thread i'm deeply sorry

a poor germany to about set against recent european elections in austria the netherlands and france in which it was feared the far right might actually gain power and given the angle of merkel herself decided to take a million refugees into germany it is quite striking that she's actually still in power of saw her job now is to try to dismantle e.f.t.'s influence in the german parliament and their core argument that immigration is a threat to germany's way of life once the headline writers are finished with the f.t. story expect more focus on merkel's bigger concerns how to deal with the u.s. presidents on issues such as climate change iran and north korea as well as stabilizing the european union to think about merkel though is that she knows how to win lawrence lee al-jazeera. and he's forty five people are being killed after a series of air strikes in syria is invalid province russian and syrian government jets have escalated strikes on it labor and how are provinces in recent days the bombing campaigns come off the six months of relative calm in the area united

nations as the exodus of rabindra muslims from me in march in bangladesh is currently the most urgent refugee emergency in the world. just released a drone for tinge shows the extent of the ranger humanitarian crisis after hundreds of thousands fled their homeland in myanmar sprawling refugee camps have been built in southern bangladesh which are home to more than four hundred thirty thousand range of muslims and is due to how reports wilcox's bazaar just across the border in bangladesh a reluctant nation is struggling to cope with the influx. it began on the twenty fifth of august. army reprisals in myanmar that followed attacks by richenda rebels sent thousands fleeing for bangladesh then tens of thousands then hundreds of thousands they arrived with

little more than the clothes on their backs in a place that had not much more to offer. some suffered terrible injuries as they ran the cold through to gunfire and landmines to cross the border others fled torture sexual violence and random killings by the army and their rocco neighbors as their villages were set alight. but they were safe at least in bangladesh. the miramar government of nobel peace prize winner unsung suchi continues to deny what the u.n. calls ethnic cleansing by its forces but there is no denying the destruction of the hinge of villages in northern rock and state that have been their homes for generations these are their homes now makeshift shelters on hillsides muddied by the monsoon rains nature too has been unkind to the injured. a shortage of basic sanitation means the ever present risk of disease and aid efforts are only

starting to meet their needs. the mixture of needs that are staggering together with the trauma that they carry from having witnessed incredible violence that mixture shock me profound that maybe this is the first the un's refugee chief warns this crisis may be long yes we need to be ready for. a problem that could last for some time but we also need as the prime minister of bangladesh has said many times we need to invest in a solution to this problem we cannot simply ignore the fact that these people have a right to return. but merely doesn't recognise their right to be there nor does bangladesh want the real hindu to stay a people made stateless stand helpless by the arbitrary borderlines of colonial

history jonah how al-jazeera bangladesh. japan's prime minister has called a snap general election next month opinion polls show strong support for his conservative l.d.p. party and its strong stance against the threat from north korea yang has threatened to quote sink japan into the sea and has fired two missiles over the northern island have hokkaido in the past months. french investigators have opened a full scale inquiry into allegations that one of the world's largest banks was complicit in the nine hundred ninety four rwandan genocide b.n. people is accused of authorizing the transfer of one point three million dollars that was used to purchase weapons used in the genocide in which more than eight hundred thousand people were massacred the transfer allegedly came a month after a united nations arms embargo on rwanda in paper says the inquiry does not come as

a surprise to them. cutter's foreign minister says he's seen an increase desire on the part of the u.s. president to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the gulf coast has been blockaded by several other arab nations since june they accuse qatar of supporting terrorism carter says what they really object to is its progressive foreign policies we being blockaded and accused of terrorism as a smokescreen for our policies of promoting meaningful change for the last two decades however we believe that to resolve these differences we all need dialogue and discussion based on respecting our choices and independence. there is one economic and political crisis is having a severe effect on the nation's health a survey by three of the nation's top universities found the average friends were in has lost nine kilograms in the past year many families and are forced to

scavenge for food in what was once south america's richest country on latin america tennessean human reports in the capital caracas. there are rarely any leftovers after lunch is served at this soup kitchen run by the catholic church in caracas you know that i would. bring my children here to ensure that they get at least one good meal a day but the kitchen runs on donations only enough to serve one hundred children so every day giuditta at assia is forced to turn many people away. every day more children come and our crisis is such that as they say shame has been forgotten people would rather beg for a plate of food for their children than watch them go hungry she says many of the children were given a special formula to help them recover from severe malnutrition but the parents who are not entitled to one meal are not so lucky. sometimes my wife and i do without

food so at least the children commute twice a day. when israel is prolonged an acute economic crisis characterized by food shortages and hyper inflation has seen infant mortality rise to almost thirty five percent and maternal mortality sixty five percent in just the last year a need is rampant the oil rich country is now leading latin america in what is called acute malnutrition the type described by experts as a rapid decline in nutrition that puts a child's life at risk. never in my twenty two years of humanitarian work have a seen an emergency expanded on so many fronts as this one and so generated by the state was such a bad prognosis. because there is no sign that the government wants to rectify and recognize that it has to address a humanitarian crisis. the catholic church and all position leaders have called for

the government to open a humanitarian corridor but constituent assembly president dench's realty is tells al-jazeera she flatly rejects such a notion. because under international humanitarian law by definition a humanitarian crisis can even facilitate and justify foreign interventions of international coalitions. whatever the definition the venezuelan state seems unable to halt a crisis the destroying thousands of families across neighboring borders. and while home a lucky few still receive help the number of deaths from malnutrition grows. you see in human al just got access u.s. president donald trump's war of words with the national football league has stretched into a fourth day dozens of n.f.l. players coaches and even some owners are drawing protests against trump's call for a boycott after he suggested players who neil during the national anthem were

disrespecting the u.s. flag and his home unfolds. the n.f.l. play is taking a stand some by taking a name by sitting while the national lab them played or by raising a fist. it was the same repeated at fourteen games right across the united states and london was to know what. they were responding to comments made by president trump on friday night attacking players who had knelt over the past you to protest racial inequality a gesture started by colin kaepernick would you love to see one of these n.f.l. owners when somebody disrespects our flag to say get that son of a the field right now out of the sky. the seattle seahawks and tennessee titans chose to stay in the locker room while the national anthem played as did the pittsburgh steelers with the exception of one playa

a one hundred below noida and. elsewhere other players chose to lock arms together in solidarity is beyond politics it's about being a human being and having dignity and compassion for other human beings regardless of their race and their gender but if the protest becomes that we're going to sit down or kneel we're not sure respect to the flag of the united states of america and everything that symbolizes everything that stands for everything our country's been through to get to this point. i do not agree with that reactions by supporters across the u.s. but also divided i think our flag represents the services that our military fights for our freedoms and there are if i just think it's completely disrespectful that there's kneeling for that i think they should be suspended at certain time and they are exercising their right of free speech i mean that's the first amendment and we've always had the right i don't think the president should actually be getting involved and saying that he has

a one sided stance he's not looking at the issues. the rosy for the new and starting which is what we're known for trump himself tweeted about the issue five times on sunday reiterating his position and spike briefly in new jersey we have a great guy and we have great representing our right back. to. back a sunday in the n.f.l. where passions before the game matched if not exceeded those that came after. you lace home and al jazeera that's more for you any time on a website that just about his out there dot com and you can watch us by clicking on the live icon. in mind and other top stories are zero kurds have voted in large numbers in

a controversial referendum on secession in northern iraq it's expected to deliver a comfortable yes result but the outcome won't be binding the voters face strong opposition from iraq's central government as well as neighbors iran and turkey and there are fears that it could destabilize the region. because of our armed forces are on the borders with iraq to do whatever it takes iran is well we'll do whatever it takes our air force stands ready we will never allow anyone or anything to go from turkey to iraq this week will adopt so many other measures will close the borders nothing will go across the border. north korea's top diplomat says president donald trump's tweet that leader kim jong un went be around much longer is a declaration of war and he says north korea now has every right to take countermeasures including shooting down u.s. bombers outside of its airspace. from. now until march last weekend trump

claimed that our leadership wouldn't be around much longer and he declared war on our country. the fact that this comes from the united states president is clearly a declaration of war. since united states declared war on our country we have every right to make counts measures including the right to shoot down united states strategic bombers even when the not yet inside north korea in a space. in germany until america has begun the task of building a new coalition after sunday's election the party came out on top but with a reduced number of seats the far right alternative for germany party has won seats in parliament for the first time taking thirteen percent of the vote is the first time the decades that a far right party has won seats in the german parliament medical services on question rico are in critical condition in the wake of hurricane maria with officials warning the situation may get worse before it gets better the strongest storm to hit the caribbean island in decades has caused wide ranging power outages

with many hospitals now running off generators. as the headlines to stay with us here at the stream is next looking at europe wise experiment with legalizing marijuana i have more news for you after that thanks for watching by for now. i understand me uruguay is the first country to volume legalize recreational marijuana but it's already a major stumbling block that's right u.s. banks have said they won't work with banks in.